TROPHY, Best Chardonnay (NSW/ACT), 2023 Melbourne Royal Wine Awards

The 2022 Mayfield ‘Block 14’ Chardonnay has been awarded the Trophy for the Best NSW/ACT Chardonnay at the 2023 Melbourne Royal Wine Awards.

The Mayfield ‘Block 14’ Chardonnay is one of three new ‘premier’ wines that Orange’s Mayfield Vineyard have released this year. 

We are absolutely thrilled with this result. We made these limited release ‘premier’ wines with a focus on highlighting the region and individual blocks on our vineyard. 

Block 14 sits on quartz filled soil. With considerably less moisture than other blocks, the grape’s roots weave deep within the stone cracks to access water and unique minerals to thrive.  Since we purchased the vineyard, we have focussed heavily on the vineyard, and building on its potential quality.  

It is still early days with our guardianship of the vineyard, and to we are extremely proud win a trophy at the Melbourne Royal Wine Show. We knew the vineyard that it was special, and results like this are a lovely endorsement of its quality. 

The Orange region is a stunning place to grow Chardonnay, and I believe that these results help showcase what the winegrowers here are achieving.

The grapes from Block 14 were fermented with 100 percent grape solids and only minor levels of juice fining. It was transferred to a combination of new and older French oak puncheons and hogsheads including Gillet barrels from Burgundy.  

Fermentation was completed in barrel with regular lees stirring to develop complexity and texture. 50 percent malolactic fermentation was encouraged to complement the stunning purity of this single Block wine.

The ‘Block 14’ Chardonnay is a wine that will grow in complexity with ten plus years in the cellar, and we’re looking forward to seeing how it develops, all the while looking forward to releasing the 2023 vintage.